The first record of Valley Creek Church, then called Sardis, appears in the minutes of the Canaan Baptist Association for 1858. At that time Sardis was accepted into the Association along with three other churches from central Alabama. Not much is known about the early history of Sardis. But it is known that the church building, at least by the late 1800's, was located in what is now the old part of the (Valley Creek) cemetery located close to Virginia Drive. This location would have been on a main wagon road from old Jonesboro to the early settlements on the lower parts of Valley Creek. This site was also near a spring, an area that may have been the site of a brush arbor before the building was constructed. The early building was said to have been a log structure built "right on the ground"; it was covered with wooden clapboard later. It faced to the west, and had a hitching post out front. Some of the family names in the early church were Meigs, McClaine, Waldrop, Parsons, Hammaker, Hopkins, and Caldwell. One of the earliest pastors was Henry George Smith, a circuit rider in western Jefferson County.
In 1891 Sardis Church was renamed Valley Creek Church, since about half the members lived on one side of the creek, and half on the other. A new church building was built in 1912 with the first meeting held in it on the second Sunday in August, a traditional date for starting a revival each year, now the date for Homecoming.
Over the decades Valley Creek earned a reputation as a special caring church. Some have attributed this trait to a renewed faith and closeness that came from suffering a great tragedy in 1905. In that year nearby Virginia mine blew up, taking the lives of more than 100 men, many of whom were members of Valley Creek.
Church members (in what was then a small community) took a step of faith in 1972 when they began work on the present church building. The first services in the new church building were held on Memorial (Decoration) Day, 1974, with official dedication in April 1975. Other facilities were added or over the years, including a family life center. A major renovation, called the Labor of Love, was completed in recent years.
God has truly blessed Valley Creek Church over the years. For most of its 150 year history it has been a small country church in a little farming and mining community. Now the community is changing and growing at a fast pace, and Valley Creek is changing and growing as well to fit the spiritual needs of the community. But over the years one thing has never changed, and that is the goal of Valley Creek Baptist Church that every man, woman, boy and girl comes to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ.
